September 2023 - Page 6 of 40 - Lokmarg

US Mission To India Surpasses One MN Visas In 2023

By LokMarg 28th September 2023

The US Mission to India has reached and surpassed the goal to process one million non-immigrant visa applications in 2023.

The mission has already surpassed the total number of cases processed in 2022 and is processing almost 20 per cent more applications than in the pre-pandemic year 2019.

The US Embassy and Consulates in India said in a statement that last year over 1.2 million Indians visited US, making one of the most robust travel relationships in the world.

“Indians now represent over 10 per cent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 per cent of all student visa applicants and 65 per cent of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants. The United States welcomes this growth,” the statement said.

The US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti expressed happiness as he shared the information “Our partnership with India is one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships, and in fact one of the most important relationships in the world” he said.

“The ties between our people are stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-setting volume of visa work in the coming months to give as many Indian applicants as possible the opportunity to travel to the United States and experience the U.S.-India friendship first hand” Garcetti added.

The US envoy to gave Visa to the one millionth US Visa holder, Ranju Singh and her spouse, who are planning to go the US to meet their son who is studying there.

Garcetti congratulated them as he gave them their visas and had a brief conversation with the one millionth US visa holder.

He further highlighted that PM Modi and US President Joe biden said “lets do a better job of moving faster on visas, so the Ministry of External Affairs approved more bodies in places like hyderabad, more people who can work on these visas. We changed our systems, we worked smarter, worked harder and got a million visa applications…”

“This is really people to people relationhip and not just country to country relationship,” he added.

The envoy said that US will continue to invest heavily in its operations in India as it recognizes the continues demand for US visas.

The US Embassy in India marked the occassion by posting a video on X that said “Mission to one million accomplished.”

“#Missionto1M accomplished! We are excited to announce that the U.S. Mission to India has reached and surpassed our goal to process one million visa applications in 2023! We will not stop here and continue our progress in coming months, to give as many Indian applicants the opportunity to travel to the United States,” the post said.

In the Video US Envoy Garcetti said that people to people ties between the United States and India are stronger than ever.

“To all one million applicants, thank you for choosing to be a part of the US-india story. Whether you are studying, working, vacationing, or investing, your contributions are a big part of what makes this relationship so great,” Garcetti said in the video.

The US Embassy in its statement said that it was investing heavily in facilitating faster visa processing.

“In the past year, the Mission has expanded its staffing to facilitate more visa processing than ever before. The Mission has made significant capital improvements to existing facilities, such as the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, and has inaugurated a new Consulate building in Hyderabad,” a statement from the US Embassy said.

According to the statement, the mission has also implemented strategies to increase efficiency extending interview waiver eligibility to new visa categories and utilizing remote work to allow staff around the world to contribute to Indian visa processing.

“Early next year, the Mission plans to implement a pilot program that would allow domestic visa renewal for qualified H&L-category employment visa applicants,” the statement from the US Embassy read.

During US President Joe Biden’s visit to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Biden stated in a joint statement that the countries share a “close and enduring” partnership.

According to the joint statement, “Improved visa processing is only one example of the U.S. Mission to India’s ongoing commitment to strengthening that partnership.” (ANI)

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PM To YouTubers: Together, We Can Empower People

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that all ‘YouTube’ content creators can contribute to bring about transformation in the lives of a vast population in the country and empower and strenghten individuals.

“Together, we can bring transformation to the lives of a vast population in our country. Together we can empower and strengthen many more individuals,” the Prime Minister said while addressing ‘fellow YouTubers’.

PM Modi was addressing YouTube Fanfest India 2023 on Wednesday.

Calling the YouTube content creators as “My YouTuber friends”, the Prime Minister said, “Since 15 years, I have also been connected to the country and the world through a YouTube channel.”

He also boasted that he has subscribers in decent numbers.

Speaking about the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Prime Minister said that YouTubers have made cleanliness more “cool”.

“Swachh Bharat became a big campaign in the last nine years. Everyone contributed to it, children brought an emotional power to it. Celebrities gave it heights, people in all corners of the country turned it into a mission and YouTubers like you made cleanliness more cool. Till the time cleanliness does not become India’s identity, we won’t stop. Therefore cleanliness must be a priority for each one of you,” Modi said.

On digital payments, the Prime Minister asked his fellow YouTubers to teach people to make digital payments in simple language through their videos.

“Due to the success of UPI, India today has 46 per cent share in digital payments of the world. You should inspire more and more people of the country to make digital payments, teach them to make digital payments in simple language through your videos,” he said.

The Prime Minister also asked YouTubers to make an emotional appeal to people through their videos to urge them to buy local products.

“You can promote them also through your work and help in making India’s local turn global. Inspire others also, make an emotional appeal that we will buy the product that has the fragrance of our soil which has the sweat of a labourer or artisan of our country,” he said.

Before signing off, Prime Minister appealed to all viewers to subscribe to his YouTube channel and hit the Bell Icon to receive all updates about him and his programs. (ANI)

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‘Bharat is a Product of Sanatan Dharma’: Guv Ravi’s Jibe At Udhayanidhi

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

Even as the fury over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s rant against Sanatan Dharma is yet to die down, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Wednesday said the successful hosting of the G20 Summit by India, under the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (One Earth, One Family, One Future), has got the world to acknowledge and celebrate Sanatan like never before.

Taking a veiled at the DMK minister. the Governor said Sanatan was “indestructible”.

Addressing a conference in Chennai earlier, Udhayanidhi equated Sanatan with “mosquitoes, dengue, malaria, fever and Corona” and called for it to be eradicated as opposed to being merely opposed.

“On the 9th and 10th of this month, the world celebrated the ‘Sanatana Utsava’ in New Delhi as we hosted the G20 Summit. This is because the G20 Summit under Bharat’s presidency was done with full commitment to Sanatana values, Sanatana Dharma, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam… Today, the world has begun celebrating Sanatana Dharma,” Ravi said at an event on Wednesday.

The Governor said, “Some people are distorting the ideas and beliefs around Satanan by making all sorts of negative remarks. They are doing so out of their selfish interests. They disregard the value of Sanatan. However, Sanatan is indestructible.”

“We have to be awake and alert to our responsibilities. If anyone speaks about eradicating it (Sanatan) or causing it any harm, we must realise that they are peddling an agenda to break the country,” Governor Ravi said.

Stressing that the “core strength” of Bharat lies in Sanatan, he claimed that “anti-national elements were attempting to strike at the very core of the country”.

“That is what the Britishers did, or tried to do. They succeeded in breaking Bharat as Partition saw the country being splintered into two,” the Tamil Nadu Governor said, adding, “Bharat cannot afford another partition”.

Invoking Ambedkar, he said, “Our Constitution says, ‘India that is Bharat’. Bharat is a product of Sanatana Dharma. Unfortunately, after the Britishers left, we didn’t do much to make the citizens understand what Bharat is.” (ANI)

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‘Huge Validation’: Shefali Shah on Emmy Nomination of ‘Delhi Crime2’

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

Actor Shefali Shah is on cloud 9 after bagging a nomination at the prestigious International Emmy Awards 2023 in the Best Performance by an Actress category for her protrayal of DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in Netflix series “Delhi Crime Season 2’.

Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, she shared her excitement on the bagging the Emmy nomination. “I am very excited, just over the moon, very very happy. It’s a huge validation and it’s still sinking in,” she told ANI.

Revealing what made her say “yes” to the role within minutes of the script reading for Season 2 of the series, Shefali said, “It just took me 5 minutes to say yes when Richie Mehta first narrated (the script). More than reading out the script, he just detailed what all happened in Delhi at that point of time (after the horrific gangape of a para-medical student in Delhi in 2012, which came to be known as the Nirbhaya case). He briefed me on how the investigation into the Nirbhaya case progressed. And, less than 5 minutes into the reading session, I said I want to do this. It was really as simple as that. It was a decision that came out of my heart. I didn’t give it any thought.“

Sharing more insight into her role of DCP Vartika Chaturved, the actor said, “The thing is that she (her character) is not only bold but also vulnerable. When I read the script, I could feel the wave of helpless rage that swept through the city at the time and the trauma that the victim and her kin went through. After reading the script, I realised there was, in fact, someone who was leading the effort to bring the culprits to justice, and, what’s more, it was a woman. The events that followed the incident were like a revolution to me. I knew this was a story that needed to be told. This was a charismatic character and also the lead. No director had pitched a lead role to me before then.”

Helmed by Tanuj Chopra, the show starrred Shefali as the protagonist, DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, while Rajesh Tilang, and Rasika Duggal were also cast in lead roles.

Produced by SK Global Entertainment, Golden Karavan and Film Karavan, ‘Delhi Crime S2’ was inspired by true events.

The first season of the show was based on the Delhi Police’s investigation into the infamous 2012 Delhi gangrape. It was the first Indian web series to win an International Emmy Award.

An actor known to easy diverse roles and a wide array of characters with aplomb, Shefali left the audiences spellbound with her magnetic screen presence and brilliant performances in ‘Jalsa’, ‘Human’, and ‘Darlings’ and ’Doctor G, among others.

Quizzed on her future projects, the actor said, “Hopefully Delhi Crime, Season 3 and a couple of other projects. But all of them are in the scripting stage now.”

Apart from Shefali, actor and stand-up comedian Vir Das and actor Jim Sarbh also bagged nominations at the International Emmy Awards 2023.

Vir Das bagged a nomination for his comedy special ‘Vir Das: Landing’, which premiered on the OTT giant Netflix. He is competing with Le Flambeau from France, El Encargado from Argentina, and Derry Girls Season 3 from the UK in the category he has been nominated in.

Jim Sarbh has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor for his role in ‘Rocket Boys’.

He will be competing against Ustavo Bassani of Argentina, Martin Freeman of the UK, and Jonas Karlsson of Sweden. (ANI)

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Kashmiri Female Activist Busts Pak Propaganda At UNHRC

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

A female activist from Kashmir valley has shown the mirror to Pakistan and busted its malicious propaganda at the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva on Wednesday

Tasleema Akhtar, a socio-political activist, said in her intervention that being a native, she would like to bring forth the stark developmental differences of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir that is JK UT and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK).

“While JK UT is bringing transformational changes for the betterment of the region, people of PoJK are living at the mercy of the Pakistan government having utter disregard for people over there and their basic human rights and amenities”, she told the Council.

She said while the Union government was investing in infrastructure and developmental projects in J&K besides bringing peace and prosperity to the region, Pakistan is struggling to meet its basic financial obligations and is shielding terrorist outfits to wage a proxy war against India.

“PoJK lacks even basic infrastructure and amenities, with negligible investment and blatant misappropriation of its resources by Pakistan”, she added.

Tasleema said in terms of education and literacy rate, JK UT is far ahead of PoJK. The government of India spends 9 times more on the education sphere in JK UT compared to its counterpart. PoJK is facing a major crisis in its education sector, lacking basic infrastructure including buildings and roofs, clean water, toilets, etc. causing acute hardships to students, resulting in a severe dropout ratio.

Change is also perceptible in the health sector. People of JK UT are availing health benefits in even the remote areas with national health schemes, which is a distant dream for the people of PoJK. GoI provides the people of Jammu and Kashmir with universal health insurance coverage for up to USD 6,000 per family. However, health facilities in PoJK are abysmal with a lack of even primary hospitals.

Tasleema told the UNHRC that the poverty rate in JK UT is also quite low compared to PoJK. The per capita income of JK UT at around USD 2,500 is also higher when compared to PoJK, where per capita income is around USD 1,000 and USD 250 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

“Tourism influx is also an all-time record high in JK UT with around 20 million tourists arrival so far in 2023 besides successful completion of G-20 Summit meeting in Srinagar on May 22-24, 2024, on the other hand, tourists inflow in PoJK has severely low,” she said.

“Therefore, I would urge the honourable council to take appropriate measures in setting up accountability for the Pakistan government for protecting the basic human rights of the people of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” Tasleema told the UN Human Rights Council.

Later, in an interview with ANI, Tasleema also lambasted Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and “playing” with the innocent lives of the Kashmiri people. (ANI)

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First Indian To Head Students’ Union Bares Dark Side Of Oxford Univ

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

After scripting history by becoming first Indian to be elected as the President of the Oxford Student Union (SU), Rashmi Samant has now come out with a tell-all book, the baring the dark side of an inistution that is spoken of in glowing terms across the world.

In her book, titled ‘A Hindu in Oxford,’ Samant detailed her harrowing experience of being allegedly targeted and singled by her professors at the university, claiming that they questioned her holding the office of president citing her religious and ethnic backgrounds.

To questions about racism that natives often have to experience on foreign shores, Samant said “Bharatiya students” face a lot of discrimination and hatred which is not discussed openly in public and neither are the victims and silent sufferers given any platform to bring their concerns into the public domain.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, she said when she stepped down from her post in February of 2021, the matter would have reached the stage of “conviction” (for the professors she accused of harassment and the university authorities) “if they had not found somebody who looked an Indian to take over (from her)”.

On her successor Avnee Bhutani saying Rashmi didn’t face any discrimination on grounds of her nationality and ethnicity, she said, “Avnee is doing a disservice to the movement (on campus) by playing down the trauma that somebody else has lived through.”

“She has no proof to back her claim. It was an act to defame me and to play down the seriousness of racism abroad for ulterior motives. During the British era also we saw a lot of people from Bharitya origin who used to defend the British as it was something positive for the Indian people. All they are doing is lying and lapping up to the expectations of the British,” she said.

Asked if Indians in the UK could look forward to a brighter future, sans racism, with an Indian-origin Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak at the helm, she said, “Our people are fighters and Sunak, too, became the Prime Minister after overcoming serious odds. However, he earned the respect and trust of fellow politicians and world leaders and is now working to take the country forward with full support of the people.”

“Our people are treated very badly and are always discriminated against. We never take it as an excuse not to excel. We do not cry. We do not become crybabies. Instead, we fight it and give it back to their face,” she said.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising or enhancing India’s global position and prestige through his leadership, Rashmi heaped praise on him for making the African Union a permanent member of the G20 at the recent summmit in the national capital, New Delhi.

She said PM Modi has stepped up to being a global leader by giving countries that are seldom spoken of the recognition they truly deserve.

“Finally, we have a seat with the Western countries. America and the UK respect us, Canada fears us, and we have great relations with Europe. What we often neglect to see is how Modi ji has also brought the African Union. That is the mark of a true leader who is willing to uplift so many. We should take pride in that we took G20 to G21,” she said.

On whether she will consider joining politics, she said service holds utmost importance in her life and she would be happy to serve people in any role.

“I don’t mind doing it in any way, being an author, commentator, writing about it, speaking about it. That is of utmost importance for me,” she added. (ANI)

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CBI Registers Preliminary Enquiry To Probe Irregularities In Construction Of Kejriwal’s Residence

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a preliminary enquiry to probe the alleged irregularities in the construction and renovation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence here, the CBI sources said.

The BJP has alleged that around Rs 45 crore was spent on the “renovation” of Kejriwal’s official residence – 6, Flagstaff Road – in the Civil Lines area of the city.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lambasted the BJP for the CBI’s move.

“The BJP is leaving no stone unturned in finishing off the Aam Aadmi Party. Today, there is only the AAP seeking votes on the basis of work done in the field of health and education. However, the BJP does not want the poor to receive the best education and healthcare services. This will lead to the defeat of the BJP’s religion and caste-based politics,” the AAP said in a statement.

“This was the reason why the country’s best Education Minister, Manish Sisodia, and best Health Minister, Satyendra Jain was put behind bars. Now, all the central agencies have been deployed to take on Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal. However, the blessings and love of Delhi’s two crore people lie with CM Kejriwal. Till now, they (central government) have registered more than 50 cases against him. Nothing came out in any of them, nothing will come out in this either,” the AAP said.

Attacking the BJP, the AAP further added, “No matter how many investigations the BJP gets conducted against CM Kejriwal, he will continue to raise his voice for common men. He is ready to pay the price for making the country achieve the position of the world’s number one nation”.

Earlier this year, the Directorate of Vigilance issued show-cause notices to Public Works Department (PWD) officials in connection with the alleged expenditure on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.

In April, hundreds of BJP leaders and workers staged a massive demonstration against Kejriwal.

“It is questionable that a person who claims to be ‘Kattar Imaandar’ spends 45 crores rupees on the renovation of the official residence. He spent 11 cr on his wardrobe, obviously, questions will be raised,” BJP leader Harish Khurana had said. (ANI)

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RajKummar, Patralekhaa Visit Lalbaugcha Raja

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

Actor RajKummar Rao along with his wife and actor Patralekhaa offered prayers at the famous Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Lalbaugcha Raja is a Lord Ganesha idol kept at Lalbaug, a locality in Mumbai, during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Dressed traditionally, the couple walked hand in hand for the visit on Wednesday.

RajKummar donned a white kurta, while Patralekhaa wore a yellow suit with a blue dupatta. She kept her makeup natural and tied her hair in a bun.

The history of the Lalbaugcha Raja is quite famous as it is the popular Ganesh idol of Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, located at Putlabai Chawl, a place of worship founded in 1934.

The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganapati idol has been taken care of by the Kambli family for over eight decades.

Lalbaugcha Raja’s first look was unveiled earlier on Friday evening, days ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day festival that starts on the fourth day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month ‘Bhadrapada’ and this year the festival commenced on September 19. The auspicious ten-day festival starts with ‘Chaturthi’ and ends on ‘Anantha Chaturdashi’.

It is believed that Lord Ganesh arrives on Earth during the festival and after the 10 days of blessings he showers on his devotees, he returns back to his parents Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on ‘Kailash Parvat’.

Meanwhile, on the work front, RajKummar was recently seen in the series ‘Guns & Gulaabs’ which is streaming on the OTT platform Netflix. He will be next seen in ‘Mr and Mrs Mahi’ opposite Janhvi Kapoor.

Patralekhaa will be seen in ‘Phule’, which is based on the remarkable lives of a social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and his wife Dnyanajyoti Savitribai Phule. (ANI)

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Twinkle, Akshay Pose With Sunak In London

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

Power couple Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar met UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their London visit.

Twinkle took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a video of their visit to London. She captioned the post, “As much as I dislike wearing heels and dressing up, this evening was worth all the damaged toes. @sudha_murthy_official remains my hero, but it was pretty cool meeting her son-in-law, the prime minister 🙂 @rishisunakmp Also put the sound on and hear @andreabocelliofficial Congratulations @anusuya12 and @theowo.london.”

The video starts with a performance of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli at an event.

At the end of the video Twinkle and Akshay can be seen posing with UK PM Rishi Sunak.

Akshay and UK PM Sunak chose a formal suit while, Twinkle wore a white dress with a leopard design jacket.

Earlier this month, Rishi Sunak along with his wife Akshata Murty arrived in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit hosted by India under its Presidency. He along with his wife also offered prayers at Akshardham Temple in New Delhi during the visit.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Akshay will be seen in the drama film ‘Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue’.

Apart from this, Akshay will also be seen in the Hindi remake of the Tamil drama ‘Soorarai Pottru’ which is all set to hit the theatres on February 16, 2024.

He also has an action thriller film ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ alongside Tiger Shroff and a comedy film ‘Housefull 5’ in his kitty. (ANI)

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Women Lead Modi’s Convoy At Vadodara Roadshow

By LokMarg 27th September 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flanked by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, held a roadshow in Vadodara on Wednesday.

A large crowd of supporters, predominatly women, lined the streets and held up placards welcoming PM Modi as the open-topped vehicle bedecked with flowers made its way.

Significantly, a sizeable contingent of women led PM Modi’s convoy as it made its way past cheering and chanting locals.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi addressed a programme marking 20 years of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, in Science City, Ahmedabad.

He termed 20 years of the summit as a “key milestone” in advancing the state’s growth.

“When Vibrant Gujarat was started, there were no big hotels in Gujarat where foreign guests could stay. Even government guesthouses used to be full. We often had to make do with university guesthouses (to house foreign delegates),” PM Modi said.

“We not only redeveloped Gujarat but also thought about its future. We conceived ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ as a key contributor in this direction. ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ was aimed at enhancing Gujarat’s global appeal and giving the state a platform to connect with the world,” he added.

Stating that the world was closely tracking the success of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, PM Modi said, “Vibrant Gujarat is not just about branding the state but it also about bonding.”

He pointed out that after the success of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’, many states have come to organise similar events to draw investments.

The event was attended by industry associations, prominent personalities from the sphere of trade and commerce, young entrepreneurs, and students of higher and technical education colleges, among others. (ANI)

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